This invention relates to manual input devices for video control and, more particularly, to improvements in so-called "joystick" devices for use in conjunction with video game controllers.
Video game controller systems generally require manual inputs from the person playing the game. The most common manual controller input device is a unit which includes a manually pivotable member and is known as a "joystick" unit. Typically, the joystick unit includes a base enclosure in which one end of an elongated joystick member is pivotally mounted, and a number of switches which are caused to be closed at different angular positions of the joystick member. In the most prevalent type of joystick unit there are four orthogonally positioned compression switches. Either a single one of these switches or two adjacent switches can be closed at once, so output information concerning the status of the four switches conveys eight possible angular position indications. The most prevalent joystick unit also includes a switch mounted in the base enclosure, this switch typically being a button switch that is operated by the hand of the operator that is not busy operating the joystick member. A cable which includes conductors from the various switches passes through an aperture in the base enclosure of the joystick unit and terminates in a connector that is adapted for coupling to an input port of the video game controller system. The controller system may be a general or special purpose processor unit that is designed exclusively for video game use, or may be a general purpose computer or processor of any type.
The most prevalent video game controller system console has two input ports which respectively receive the connectors from two identical joystick units. When a video game is played by two players, each player typically uses one of the joystick units, and the video game controller system interrogates, at appropriate intervals, the statuses of the switches of the joystick units, these switches defining the player's manual inputs. Some video games are adapted for play, if desired, by a single player. Typically, in such case, one of the system console input ports is active, and the player uses one of the joystick units to control play via the active input port.
In various video games it would be desirable to have additional modes of manual input to control aspects of the game. For example, if the joystick pivot position is used to define direction of a vehicle, and the joystick button switch is used to fire a projectile from the vehicle, it may be desirable to have additional manual input from the player that defines velocity or acceleration of the vehicle or projectile, or rotation, transposition, or other motion-defining parameters. Inputs by which the operator changes status or conditions that are not necessarily motion-related might also be useful to have in a particular game, for example inputs which set a time clock running, alter a time base, or change the status of a scoring system. From the standpoint of designing video game software, full flexibility for these modes of control is generally available. A limiting factor, however, is the nature of the joystick unit itself which generally includes only a single button switch and the joystick member.
It is known that joystick units can be provided with additional switches. However, since a large percentage of game software developed must, to be practical, be compatible with the most prevalent type of video game controller system purchased by consumers, the software must necessarily take into account the limitation on the number and type of operator manual inputs that can be obtained from the joystick units that come with the video game controller systems.
It is among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved joystick unit that allows greater operator flexibility for manual control of video games. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an adapter which can be inexpensively produced and readily connected to a conventional joystick unit to obtain an adapted joystick unit that provides compatible inputs to a conventional video game controller system.